KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine appointed former Tottenham striker Serhiy Rebrov as coach of the men’s national soccer team on Wednesday as it aims to qualify for next year’s European Championship despite being unable to play at home because of the Russian invasion.
Rebrov, who signed a three-year contract, is the first permanent coach since Oleksandr Petrakov left in January and joined Armenia. Ukraine missed out on qualifying for last year’s World Cup under Petrakov, losing to Wales in the playoffs. Ruslan Rotan had been in interim charge for the 2-0 loss to England in March.
Rebrov played for teams including Dynamo Kyiv, West Ham and Tottenham during his career and has coached in the Ukrainian, Saudi Arabian and Hungarian leagues, with his most recent job being with Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates.
His first game in charge will be a charity friendly against Germany on Monday before European Championship qualifiers against North Macedonia on June 16 and Malta three days later.
Ukraine has played all of its games outside of the country since Russian troops invaded last year.
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